Taximeter.



C. D. R|CHARD TAXIMETERL APPLICATION man OCT. 27, 1915.

1,234,21 6. Patented July 24, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES DONAT RICHARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN TAXIMETER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TAXIMETER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 24, 1917.

Application filed October 27, 1915. Serial No. 58,112.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES DONAT R1011- ARD, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Taximeters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My present improvements relate to the prevention of theft by the operators of taxicabs and other vehicles; it being a common practice for the drivers of vehicles equipped with taximeters, as heretofore constructed, to manipulate the flag or indicator in such a manner that the movement of the registering apparatus may be such as to improperly increase the indicated charge so that the driver may appropriate a portion of the amount to his own use and thus defraud the owner of the vehicle; and oftentimes this deceptive practice is accomplished by a sudden changing of the flag by hand from one position to another so that sufficient time will not be allowed'for the inner actuating mechanism of the meter to carry the pointer back to zero, and, hence, an extra charge will be shown which the driver is able to utilize to his own advantage. The object of the invention is to effectively prevent this fraudulent manipulation of a taximeter, and it consists essentially in means for temporarily restraining or looking the flag or indicator in its for hire position after it is returned thereto from any running position and thus make it impossible for the flag to be lifted to such position and then suddenly carried to another position before the pointer has reached the zero mark; and the invention also consists in numerous details and peculiarities in the construction, arrangements and combination of the various parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating my invention:

Figure l is a side elevation of my improved device for preventing the fraudulent manipulation of a taximeter, the same having the flag shown as occupying the for hire position in which my improved looking device securely holds it looked for the time being.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same on the line 2, 2 ofFig. 1. V V

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the different figures of the drawing.

1 denotes the main frame of a taXimeter, in connection with which will be arranged the usual drums and other parts of the registering train, as also the dial, pointer, etc, which it is unnecessary to illustrate or describe here, as they form no part of the present invention, especially as my present device may be employed with various mechanisms now in common use.

2 denotes the flagv or indicator, which is shown in Fig. 1 as occupying the for hire position, and which is adapted to be turned down into various other positions corresponding to the tariff to be charged and the number of passengers carried, or otherwise, it being noted that with the particular kind of meter with which my present improved locking device is used the flag is designed to be rotated always in the same direction, and never backward, but, whenever it is restored from any one of the intermediate positions to the for hire position, it is compelled to complete the circuit in the forward direction. My present invention restrains or looks the fiagtemporarily in its for hire position as soon as it is returned to that point, and prevents the driver from moving it quickly by that point and causing the registering mechanism to continue to indicate without allowing the pointer to return to the zero mark, a danger which would be possible without the detention device, but by the use of which, the flag, when it reaches the for hire position, is retarded there an appreciable length of time, or a sufficiently long time to allow the pointer to return to zero,

the restraint of movement of the flag when it reaches the neutral point being either a dead stop or' such a slow motion that the pointer will have a chance to return to zero.

The flag 2 is carried by an arm 3, on the lower end of which is a circular casing 4: having a central hub 5 that is secured by means of a pin 6, or otherwise, to a shaft 7, which constitutes the controlling member for the inner mechanism of the meter, said shaft 7 being rotated so as to occupy different positions accordingly as the flag is caused to swing around it from one position to another, and obviously in its different positions of rotation the shaft 7 imparts different efiects to the recording and registering mechanism so as to allow the same to operate in the desired manner.

WVithin the circular casing a is a concentric disk 8 which is secured rigidly to the frame 1 by means of screwsor other fastening devices 9. This disk is provided with a cam groove 10 consisting of an eccentric path, at one point of which is a vertical portion 11, directly in line with the axis of the fiag arm 3when the latter is in its vertical or for hire position, there being alongside of the vertical portion 11 and formed by one wall thereof a shoulder 12 acting as a stop against which an element riding along in the cam path will come to an abrupt stop, or be restrained so as to move very slowly.

13 indicates a sliding block carried in a guiding recess 14 formed in the inner wall of the casing 4 in line with the axis of the flag handle 3, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l-

and also fully indicated in Fig. 2. This block 13 has a longitudinal slot 15 therein, which embraces the shaft 7, and it also carries a horizontally-projecting pin 16 which engages the cam groove 10. \Vhen the flag is in its for hire position, the sliding block 15 will be in the position indicated in Fig. 3 where its pin 16 rests in the lower end of the vertical portion 11 of the cam groove and the shaft 7 occupies a position in the upper end of the slot 15. 'lVhen the parts are relatedin this way, it will be obvious that the flag is free to move out of the for hire position in the direction shown by the arrow to any other position throughout the circle of its movements, be-- cause the pin -16- is free to travel around through the eccentric path of the cam groove 10. When, however, the flag has been carried quickly around through the rest of its circuit of revolution from its for hire 1 or any running position back again to its for hire position, the pin 16 will strike against the stop or shoulder 12 and restrain the movementof the flag or hold it in its for hire position for an appreciable length of time, that is to say, long enough for the pin 16 to drop from the upper end of the vertical slot 11 to the lower end thereof, which it must necessarily do owing to the action of gravity on the sliding block 15 in the vertical recess 14, and this detention of the flag in its for hire position while the pin 16 is making its drop past the shoulder 12 will be long enough to allow the drums or other mechanism of the meter to restore the pointer to the zero graduation on the dial, thus making it impossible for the driver to quickly throw the flag around its circular course from any position which it may happento'occupy past the zero position without allowing the pointer time to resume its zero indication,whereby it might be possible to use the meter fraudulently and increase the charges indicated thereby so that the driver found necessary in actual practice without relinquishing any of the security by the locking device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicator and means for controlling the position of the mechanism of ,a meter, to which means the indicator is attached, of a stationary means provided'with a track or groove having a stop or shoulder, relatively movable means carried by the indicating device and engaging the track, said means striking the stop during the revolution of the indicator, and bein retarded thereby for an appreciable lengt1 of time and then released by gravity.

attained 2. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicating device and a meter-controlassume different positions, of a stationary member having a cam groove eccentric to the axis ofthe shaft-and with a portion perpendicular to'said aXis so as to form a stop, and a member loosely connected with the indicating device and engaging the cam ling shaft around which it iscaused to groove within which it travels during'the adjustment" or the indicator. and abutsagains'tithe' 'stop'so "as to detain the indica tor in a predetermined position for an appreciable length of time.

3. In a. taxiineter, the combination with i an indicating device and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached and around whose axis it travels, of a member havlng a cam groove eccentr1c to the axis of the shaft and provided with a shoulder at itshigh part, a slide vertically-movable in a guide in the indicating device and embracing the trols the position of the mechanism of the meter, to which shaft the indicating device is attached and around which it swings, 1

means provided with a cam-shaped groove surrounding and eccentric to the shaft, said groove having 'a shoulder vertically above the axis of the shaft, and a member loosely connected with the indicating device and traveling within the cam groove, said mem ber being detained when it strikes the shoulder in said groove until released by gravity, the detention being for the purpose of keeping the indicating device in a predetermined position long enough for the pointer to return to zero.

5. In a ta-ximeter, the combination with an indicating device having a casing at its lower end and a shaft connecting with the mechanism of the meter, to which shaft the indicator casing is secured, a stationary plate inclosed by the indicator casing, said plate having a cam groove surrounding and eccentric to the aforesaid shaft, which groove has at its high part an abutment perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, and a slide Working in a guide within the indicator casing, and having a slot inclosing the shaft, said slide having a projection which travels within the cam groove as the indicator swings around the shaft, said projection being temporarily restrained when it strikes the abutment until released from said abutment by gravity, whereby the indicator is detained in a predetermined position for an appreciable length of time.

6. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicatin device and a shaft connecting with the meter mechanism, to which shaft the indicating device is attached and around which it is movable, said movement being always in the same direction, and stationary means provided with a cam groove having a shoulder or abutment perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, and a member traveling in said cam groove and vertically movable on the indicating device with which it is loosely connected, said member detaining said device in a predetermined position when it strikes the abutment in the groove.

7. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicating device and a shaft connected with the meter mechanism, to which shaft the indicating device is attached and around which it travels, of stationary means provided with a guiding track having a shoulder or abutment, a member traveling in said track so as to strike the abutment at a certain point in the revolution of the indicating device and be temporarily detained by such contact, and a guide on the indicator for said member which permits it to gravitate away from the abutment after contact therewith.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES DONAT RICHARD.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atenta, Washington, D. 0. 

